Keller @ Large: Aerosmith Comm. Ave. Concert A Bad Move

Brad Whitford, Steven Tyler, Tom Hamilton and Joe Perry of Aerosmith perform on NBC's 'Today' at Rockefeller Plaza on November 2, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

BOSTON (CBS) – Even if you don’t especially care for their music, if you’re from around here, you’ve gotta show some love for Aerosmith, the 42-year-old Boston band that is one of our area’s most enduring contributions to rock and roll.

So believe me, it’s with no offense meant to the band when I say that the closure of a seven block stretch of Comm. Ave. in Allston for eight hours Monday so Aerosmith can perform a brief outdoor concert to promote their new album is an amazingly bad decision.

If you left your car parked on or near that stretch last night, from which it has probably now been towed, or couldn’t catch the Green Line through there because service was suspended; if you were or are stuck in gridlocked traffic as a result; or if you find your business impeded by the mess, you are likely with me on this.

A spokesperson for Mayor Menino says the event creates “excitement” for the city, but really, you mean to say this thing had to happen in front of an apartment building the band once lived in rather than any of the city’s many concert venues, where this event could take place without all that disruption?

A bad move, reflecting surprisingly misplaced priorities.

And coming on the heels of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s incomprehensible decision, only reversed after severe public outcry, to go ahead with the New York City marathon even though it would have diverted resources away from the city’s hurricane victims, I wonder – what gets into politicians to make them mess up their priorities so badly?

High-profile sports events and concerts are crucial to a city’s image and economy, I get that.

But sometimes, regular folks have to come before celebrities and headlines.

I don’t doubt that Menino and Bloomberg know that. Even more curious that in these cases, they seemed to forget it.

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.

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Jon Keller is WBZ-TV News' Political Analyst, and his "Keller At Large" reports on a wide range of topics are regularly featured during WBZ-TV News at 6PM and 11PM. Keller also broadcasts morning dri...